Cuban Military
The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias – FAR) consist of ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Troops Militia (Milicias de Tropas Territoriales – MTT), Youth Labor Army (Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo – EJT), and the Defense and Production Brigades(Brigadas de Producción y Defensa – BPD), plus the Civil Defense Organization (Defensa Civil de Cuba – DCC) and the National Reserves Institution (Instituto Nacional de las Reservas Estatales – INRE). The armed forces has long been the most powerful institution in Cuba. The military controls 60 percent of the economy through the management of hundreds of enterprises in key economic sectors. The military has also served as Raúl Castro's base. In numerous speeches, Raúl Castro emphasized the military's role as a people's partner. From 1966 until the late 1980s, Soviet Government military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities to number one in Latin America and project power abroad. The first Cuban military mission in Africa was established in Ghana in 1961. Cuba's military forces appeared in Algeria, in 1963, when a military medical brigade came over from Havana to support the regime. Since the 1960s, Cuba sent military forces to African and Arab countries – Syria in 1973, Ethiopia in 1978, the Cuban intervention in Angola from 1975 to 1989, and Nicaragua and El Salvador during the 1980s. The Soviet Union gave both military and financial aid to the Cubans. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba throughout most of the 1980s exceeded deliveries in any year since the military build-up during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1989 the government instituted a cleanup of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, convicting army Major General and Hero of the Republic of Cuba Arnaldo Ochoa, Ministry of Interior Colonel Antonio de la Guardia (Tony la Guardia), and Ministry of Interior Brigadier General Patricio de la Guardia on charges of corruption and drug trafficking. This judgment is known in Cuba as "Causa 1" (Cause 1). Ochoa and Antonio de la Guardia were executed. Following the executions, the Army was drastically downsized, the Ministry of Interior was moved under the informal control of Revolutionary Armed Forces chief General Raúl Castro (Fidel Castro's brother), and large numbers of army officers were moved into the Ministry of Interior. Cuban military power has been sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies. Today, the Revolutionary Armed Forces number 39,000 regular troops. The DIA reported in 1998 that the country's paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops, the Youth Labor Army, and the Naval Militia had suffered considerable morale and training degradation over the previous seven years but still retained the potential to "make an enemy invasion costly." Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities. On September 14, 2012, a Cuban senior general agreed to further deepen military cooperation with China during a visit to Beijing. He said that Cuba was willing to enhance exchanges with the Chinese military and strengthen bilateral cooperation in personnel training and other areas. Inventory 1960's (Cuban Missile Crisis) * Riflemen * Sniper * Anti-Armor Soldier * Medic Vehicles * BTR-40 * BTR-152 * BTR-50 * BTR-60 * T-55 * ZSU-57-2 * BM-21 Grad * P-15 Termit * S-125 Neva/Pechora Naval * Polnocny-class landing ship * Osa-class missile boat * Foxtrot-class submarine Aircraft * MiG-15 * MiG-17 * MiG-19 * P-51 Mustang * Hawker Sea Fury * North American B-25 Mitchell * Ilyushin IL-28 Modern Day * Riflemen * Sniper * Anti-Armor Soldier * Medic Cuban Soldiers.jpg|Riflemen Cuban Anti-Tank Infantry.jpg|Anti-Armor Infantry Vehicles * BTR-40 * BTR-152 * BTR-50 * BTR-60 * BRDM-2 * BMP-1 * PT-76 * T-55 Tank * T-62 Tank * ZSU-57-2 * ZSU-23-4 Shilka * 2S1 Gvozdika * 2S3 Akatsiya * BM-21 Grad * P-15 Termit * S-125 Neva/Pechora * 9K31 Strela-1 * 9K33 Osa * 9K35 Strela-10 * 2K12 Kub BTR-40.jpg|BTR-40 BTR_152_Yerevan.JPG|BTR-152 BTR-50.jpg|BTR-50 BTR-60.JPG|BTR-60 BRDM-2.jpg|BRDM-2 BMP-1.jpg|BMP-1 Verkhnyaya_Pyshma_Tank_Museum_2012_0181.jpg|PT-76 T-55.jpg|T-55 1920px-ParkPatriot2015part10-12.jpg|T-62 2S1 (SAU-122).jpg|2S1 Gvozdika 2S3 Akatsiya.jpg|2S3 Akatsiya ZSU-57-2.jpg|ZSU-57-2 ZSU-23-4.jpg|ZSU-23-4 BM-21 Grad.JPG|BM-21 Grad P-15 Termit.jpg|P-15 Termit S-125 Neva - Pechora.JPG|S-125 Neva/Pechora 9K31 Strela-1.jpg|9K31 Strela-1 9K33 Osa.jpg|9K33 Osa 9K35 Strela-10.jpg|9K35 Strela-10 2K12 Kub.jpg|2K12 Kub Naval * Delfin-class midget submarine * Yevgenya-class minesweeper * Sonya-class minesweepers * Osa II-class PFM missile boats * Pauk II-class fast patrol craft * Rio Damuji-class frigate * Intelligence collection vessel Air Craft * Mil Mi-8 * Mil Mi-24 * Aero L-39 * MiG-21 * MiG-23 * MiG-29 * Antonov An-26